THE Tembari Children's Care (TCC) Inc is a day care facility at ATS Oro Settlement, 7-Mile, outside of Port Moresby, PNG. To date, it takes care of more than 200 former street children - orphans, abandoned and the unfortunate - by serving them meals twice a day, and providing them early education. Assistance - food and money - is sent by supporters who find merit in the services we provide to these children. At The Center, they are family. For all of these, we need support that is sustainable.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Tembari receives books from Buk Bilong Pikinini

Expatriate journalist Alfredo P Hernandez receives from Francesca Kupe, office manager of Buk Bilong Pikinini, a "bilum" of children’s books which are part of the 347 pieces of old and new books donated to Tembari Children’s Care (TCC) last Wednesday. – Photo courtesy of Buk Bilong Pikinini.

By ALFREDO P HERNANDEZ

A Friend of Tembari Children

THE Tembari children were proud recipients of books from Buk Bilong Pikinini (Books for Children), a book charity based in Port Moresby.

The donation was turned over to me last Wednesday by Aussie expatriate Diane Popple, children’s book evaluator, and Francesca Kupe, office manager of Buk Bilong Pikinini.

The many boxes that I received contained 347 new and used books collected from different libraries and publishing houses in Australia as well as individual donors.

This donation is very timely because we have a growing number of schoolchildren and preschoolers who, at their young age, needed to be exposed to the joys of reading.

These books would help us start a mini-library which would lend books that our young learners at Tembari would have particular interest in.

Buk Bilong Pikinini aims to focus on early learning (as a key to literacy) through the creation of small libraries in communities based localities such as near settlements, clinics and market places.

“We collect books from private individuals and publishing houses and seek to obtain funding for our libraries through various fundraising efforts as well as through corporate sponsorships,” BBP said on its website.

For the school year 2012, Tembari will have 117 schoolchildren in elementary and primary schools and about 110 young learners at the facility’s preschool.

Ms Popple told me that they heard about Tembari children from a friend of hers, Ms Narelle Levey, who teaches at the Ela Murray International School (EMIS) in Port Moresby.

She said that one of her kids is studying at the school.

Ms Popple said that My Levey had recommended Tembari tobe one of the recipients of book donations that BBP would be making in the next several weeks.

Ms Popple contacted me through email to relay the good news about a bunch of books that would be coming to Tembari.

THE BLOGGER

ALFREDO P HERNANDEZ, A Friend of Tembari Children. Blogger APH came to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, in 1993 to join The National newspaper as one of its pioneering journalists. Working as Executive Sub Editor, he has remained with the daily, now the country’s No. 1 newspaper, up to these days. He has been a journalist since his university days in Manila back in the late 60s. APH’s involvement with the Tembari children began in January 2010 after he discovered them at a Christmas party for the city’s 500 unfortunate children held at the Botanical Garden in Port Moresby. That day, he was chasing a story for The National, which happened to be that of the unfortunate children in the city. His self-appointed job for Tembari children composed of orphaned, abandoned, neglected and unfortunate children is to look for people and groups who could provide them food, money, health services and facilities necessary to create positive changes in their lives. This job is difficult, but what the heck …!

(Our sponsored Saturday lunch for the 200 Tembari kids costs only K250.00 per sponsor (we usually have two), which covers a special meat (fish or chicken) dish, veggies, steamed rice and cordial drink. The Saturday lunch needs at least two sponsors. Some had given more, allowing us to give the kids a generous heap of the day’s lunch. A rare bonus to the sponsors, along with the bricks they earn each time, is that I personally cook the dish, giving it a personal touch. And as they earn a brick, each of our benefactors also earn a passage into the heart of the Tembari kids, which is also a prepaid ticket to Heaven.)